Ascension
by Nghi
Summary: (Non-AU) The end of a search. The end of a monster. It was the end of many things, most congratulatory. But it would also be the end of a life.
1. Pt I

**Ascension**

_Nghi_

**A/N:** …. How it will end…. Estimated five chapters, at the maximum.

**Summary:** (Non-AU) The end of a search. The end of a monster. It was the end of many things, most congratulatory. But it would also be the end of a life.

**Disclaimer:** ((holds up an American flag)) Sorry, folks. Not from Japan.

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**Ascension**

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"Hello…."

"Hello."

A pause. Soft cricket chirping, small snore from Shippo beside her, and her own chest rising and falling in even patterns. Insert a bit of star twinkling across the sky and Inuyasha taking a good doze and the fire crackling and then— "What's going to happen after tomorrow is done?"

There. Out into the world for everyone else to mull about. A deceivingly casual question. Subdued voice, as usual. Very quiet, with few traces of otherwise unusual emotions that would result in a few odd glances her way. But the question was different, not the fleeting 'Oh, do you think Naraku is going to fall into a pit of rabid bunnies' or 'I'll betcha I can throw Shippo past that tree' or even the latest 'Do you think Kagome is in love with Inuyasha or vice versa because they have a funny way of showing it'. (A cause for blushing profusely at those times.)

This wasn't the type of subject that came to mind in the spur of moment just to continue a conversation ("Good morning, darling! Nice sleep? Do you think you will die tomorrow? Pass the jam and get ready for school!"). It was a matter that built upon itself, manifesting into a monster that gave her many sleepless nights (Beauty confirms this.). But she wasn't stupid- rather, she was quite sharp and aware of her customs on when to act and when to speak up, and a subject approached so laid-back and so casual… well, it just wasn't in her manner, and that was peculiar itself.

More pregnant pauses, followed by a quiet sigh. Even she couldn't hear it, but if the past five years' knowledge served her correctly, he would have sighed by now.

"Houshi?" An expectant tone- she wanted a response.

"I'm thinking of the best one," was the immediate answer.

The pregnant pauses multiplied, and Shippo's pillow knew- intuition! - the huntress was becoming impatient from a lack of answer. After all, you didn't endure five, grueling months of insomnia to unanswered questions that burned in your head only to stop for a few (long!) minutes while a certain monk was composing the best answer he could rack up while in the midst of praying about God knows what.

Finally, after dozens of little baby minutes, he opened his mouth to reply.

"The next day will come."

And _she_ could just _tell_ from his voice that he was proud of that answer, that oh-so smart-aleck answer that the huntress was not craving for. _She_ could just envision his face, poised and confident with a hint of smugness behind the mask.

An audible sharp intake of breath, followed by a sharp smack on the head. "That's not what I meant, and you know it!" Correction- sharp breath, smack, and a hiss. A dog would bark before resorting to biting, but in this case— violence now, compromise later.

"What do you mean then, Sango-sama?"

"You _know_ what I mean!"

"No, I don't," he insisted eagerly. "Enlighten me with your beautiful words on this precarious subject matter."

"_Don't_ push it." Oh Sango, you've just unwittingly opened a path for Miroku to release a grenade onto yourself….

"Pushing _what_?" Atomic bomb. With just a hint of naïveté. There was, of course, a list of actions to do when faced with an angelic-looking monk and notorious behavior of leading a conversation down the wrong road: 1) Respond (In this case, fluster, open and close mouth like a fish, and sort of flounder helplessly like a sea creature on land.), 2) Scream angry, incomplete phrases that utterly have no real meaning and could have made a sailor and Inuyasha cry, or 3) Ignore the monk and lead the conversation away from the sexual tension buzzing around them.

Number three sounded easy enough, and pretty soon, the sexual tension was only in Houshi's head.

"Where do you think we're going to go… from tomorrow?" She wandered back somewhere onto the straight path again, and it was clear that this question really _didn't_ come out of nowhere- it would have been dropped some time ago amidst the moderate passes Houshi made at her. It was very serious for Sango, the way she reworded the question, the tone in her voice, and the tangible relief that she wouldn't have to feign being unaffected by this, because, in truth, she _was_ affected. It was a solemn moment for her… until she realized how suggestive that question made out. "Inuyasha, Shippo, and Kagome, too, I mean! Hah- we can't forget them, can we?" Hastily added. Surely Sango was turning a lovely shade of pink by now, and it probably wasn't from the light of the fire.

Houshi chuckled at the flustered girl, his mouth curving into an infectious grin. "I didn't know you thought about me that way…." Oh yeah. A dark flush was probably at the tip of her ears.

But eventually, _it_ faded to nothing, and the twinkle in his eyes faded and the smile on his mouth faded and the laughter and the embarrassment in the air faded all into nothing. No, not nothing- it was morose sincerity for the first time that late, starry-eyed evening. And for a while, the feeling settled into the pits of their stomachs.

"Miroku…?" Tentatively. Sango was afraid of agitating him for an answer, that much _she_ knew.

"… Well, it would depend on who you would want to-"

"You." Her voice was quiet when she conversed with him (Save for the violence.), but it ebbed into a near silent voice when she responded with another question of her own before he had even finished his statement.

_Very_ silent now. Miroku was no idiot with a monk sign hanging around his neck- he was very much able in perceiving other emotions. Unfortunately for Sango, her emotions were about as concealed as Inuyasha with his anger. Shifting uncomfortably under the drawn-out silence (And his odd stare.), she added, "And everyone else, too. Just— you first."

Baited breath. Her breath hitched and her shoulders stiffened, and she waited for the Romeo and Juliet-esque kiss or a hug or -throat scratched- a whispered breath -breath started to come out unevenly- or a declaration of love or something -her nose itched- that signaled that they were a couple. She was waiting for them to fall into -a small hitch in the voice- open arms for some time—

Kagome writhed inside her camping bag. And then twitched again, quivered, shivered, and remained still. And she writhed one last time for a good measure before settling down, hoping to anything above the holy sky that the two didn't see her react so violently to Shippo's tail underneath her nose.

"Kagome?" Ah! Sango's voice! She was sleeping, she was sleeping…. "Are you awake?"

No response. Best to play dead… er, safe. After a few minutes passed, and no response came from the sleeping bag, Miroku concluded the wrong thing. "She must be cold. I will go tuck her blanket more securely." Rustle of cloth ready to do a virtuous deed…. (His Words: I'll tuck her in… near her backside.)

"You know what? I'll do that when I go to sleep in a few minutes. It's not really cold outside, really." (Her Words: Don't even think about it, you pervert. _I'll_ tuck her in for her butt's safety.)

Thank you, Sango, thank you.

"All right," Miroku resigned, his back scratching the bark of the tree again. Heartrending acceptance laced his words and another resounding sigh escaped his lips and his eyes began to glaze and— and-

His companion had to smack his arm to snap him out of his reverie. "Oh— right! Where were we?" Obviously, the daydreaming was beginning to interfere with his ability to concentrate during some parts of the day.

"We were talking about tomorrow," Sango reminded him with subtle annoyance. Added _almost_ inaudibly: "I don't know why I put up with your lecherous ways."

Miroku chose wisely not to comment on the last bit. "Well, I'll be living happily in a prostitute house -women, of course!-, you and Kirara will return to your village with Kohaku, Inuyasha will be human and live his life peacefully, Shippo will be adopted by a loving family, Kagome will return to her era, and her bicycle will remain on an alter in the village as a sign to the people that yes, a girl did time-travel back into the past to fight demons with us. And of course- Naraku will die a horrible death, preferably in a fire that should have finished him off more than 50 years ago. That, dear Sango, is how tomorrow will end. Of course, this is only theoretical- that is, if we don't lose." In half a minute, he had described how the group would end up- split apart and going their own ways. His tone was so casual and flippant and the words so serious and steadfast that it was quite impossible to tell whether he was joking or had meant every word of it.

Up until now, Kagome wouldn't have thought of tomorrow, and just hearing one of her more jovial friends speak so negatively about the end plummeted her to more pressing matters than personal love life- how _will_ tomorrow end? From his description, it didn't look very inviting, and she was half-tempted to run back to the well, jump through it, and wake up to school worries, not a life-and-death battle. She curled against Shippo, unconsciously stroking his head to comfort herself.

Sango remained quiet, her posture slackening next to Miroku's upright position. Clearing her throat— "How do you know?" she whispered, swallowing heavily. "How do you know what the future is going to end up like?"

Again, the whole monk meditation thing, where he focused on the question, his hands by his knees. How did he know? Why such a grim ending on the horizon? Shifting once more, he turned to face her and could only muster a strained, forced smile. Finally— "Sango-sama, I do not know- I only predict."

Somewhere within Kagome, she heard something swell and press against her ribcage, and it made it so much more painful to breathe normally like one would.

"Why would you say such a bad predicament?" Sango whispered, and Kagome heard her voice beginning to break and become hoarse and raw. "Why such bad endings?"

"Because it is how I see it."

Her eyebrows furrowed, completing her indignant look. "How would-"

"Would you prefer happy endings? The happily ever after fairy tales that Miss Kagome is so fond of retelling to Shippo?" Bitter. Plain, concrete bitterness that Kagome and Sango hadn't realized Miroku had been suppressing for some time now. "Because I could always lie and tell you that I believe that we will win without any damage to the group. Naraku will rot on the battlefield as his deathbed for unleashing hell onto the grounds. No one will die, and we will still stay together in a group, and Inuyasha will still protect us with his sword, Shippo will stay with us, I will swear off women-"

"-Stop—"

"-You will fully heal over your brother, and Kagome will still time travel back and forth for no apparent purpose. But the only reason why we're all putting so much effort into getting together, into keeping the group the same is because we want to be together. Because we're all friends and we need to stay together for what it's worth. Is that what you wanted to hear, Sango? Was that happy enough for you?" He finished darkly— something flickered erratically within his indigo depths.

Sango looked up at him angrily, her temper beginning to rise. "I didn't say we-"

"-were going to ride off into the horizon on top of horses." He finished her sentence, his eyes latching onto her chocolate, doe ones. "I realize that. But _you_ have to realize that winning against Naraku is impossible." His mouth twisted into something akin to a terrible, morbid smile, and she twisted her glance away, hating him for bringing a possible ending, hating him for not being himself and giving her comfort, and hating him the most for being filled with bitterness that she couldn't stand and didn't want to stand anymore.

"I never wanted a happy ending- I _know_ there's going to be bloodshed. I know we're not going out of this battle unscathed. But don't try to impose what you see in the future on me." A heated answer in response to his dark one.

"But it's honesty. Naraku has always had more of a chance to defeat us-"

"What if we won?" This time, she interrupted him. "What if we won, by some crazy, fool of a chance? Where would you be? Where would Inuyasha be? Shippo? Kagome? Me?" Her chin jutted out defiantly, daring him to take on her challenge.

Miroku laughed mirthlessly, a hollow sound to Kagome's ears, where it continued to ring a broken record over and over. "Do you _really_ want to know where I'll be, _Sango-sama_? Do you really want to know what I'll do when Naraku is defeated, and I managed to stay alive? Do you really want to know what I'll do for the next ten days? Ten weeks? Ten months? Ten _years_? I would be drunk on the streets, living off local prostitutes."

Sango flinched, so taken aback by the harsh, grating words, and Kagome, who was not even supposedly participating in the conversation, huddled closer to Shippo, as if it brought some form of security from his reality view.

Miroku ignored her recoiling and persisted in a quiet, steeled voice. "I'd die ten days later from no food, I'd die ten weeks later from all the women leading around me, I'd die ten months later from no home. And I would die ten years later from repeating this over and over. _That_, Sango-sama, is how my life will be lived. A repeated cycle that will never end."

Kagome could envision the youkai exterminator curl her fingers around the side of her kimono, palms sweating at such a real look of himself, of his life, and of his morals. A forced shudder ran across her spine, and she resisted jerking under the layer of blanket.

"And Inuyasha would become human. He would live somewhere near a village that has never heard of the name Inuyasha before, and he could be the local storyteller, telling of magical battles. Shippo would have a happy, adopted family until he is old enough to become a foot soldier, protecting a nearby clustered village. _You_ are the easiest to predict of. You wanted your brother returned to you, so when Naraku is defeated, he is yours again. And you return to your village to bury the rest of your family and live out your life peacefully, like everyone else. And not only that, but you have your brother for comfort and love." He stopped there. Finished. What Miroku foretold of everyone else- how everyone will end up. So real, so like every other tale that had been told, so every other yarn that had been spun… and sadly, as cold realization ran down her back, it was the most accurate.

Sango let her head nod forward, her hands now clasped tightly in her lap, white and albino. Her lips were her lips, pressed together into a thin frown while her forehead creased, and she just stared at her green, pleated kimono for some time. When she did look up and into his eyes again, her eyes held a small glimmer of hope, of an actual happy ending. But just barely- the truth, all the factors, the most realistic ending… it all impacted her way of thinking. "I still hope we're going to defeat Naraku…."

Miroku laughed at her small optimism. "Don't tell me something so hopeful and look at me like that," he half-pleaded, half-smiled and all the while shifting his entire body away from her. "It makes me envy your faith." The paradox around the short, curt phrase made Kagome want to laugh at his moronic sense of humor, if the bile didn't already rise to the tip of her throat, and she tasted the acid burning her tongue and flesh. She forced the lump in her throat and her growing pity down, pushed it away somewhere else- he did not need any pity from anyone.

This time, when a pause settled within the confines and cracks of the travelers, it was a tense gap, no longer filled with humor and laughter and passes. And when Sango did finally ask Miroku what he thought about Kagome, he answered in the same, dreaded confidence— "I don't know. I really don't. She could continue to travel back and forth. But what would be the real purpose of her returning? Why not just stay in her era? After all, when it ends, there is no need of her to stay here. She has a life on the other side, too, be it whether Inuyasha understands or not. And she had always wanted to come home for studying, for a party, or whatever else suits her desire. Returning here again would only waste her time and effort."

His implications sent Kagome into a spiraling wave of hurt as the words reached full impact. Why would she never return? There was no question, no doubt, _no_ hesitation about it. A piece of her heart was here, and she could never be fully happy, fully satisfied if she sealed the well and just stayed in her time without ever coming back.

Her heart thudded heavily against her ribcage, and a cold, sheet of sweat broke across her forehead as the conversation swirling behind her faded to deaf ears. Miroku's questioning of her actions placed apprehension inside her head, and now she couldn't really sleep. Closing her eyes, Kagome turned his answer over and over in her head, and still nothing. No matter how many times she analyzed it, tried to see past its enigmatic wrap, she couldn't put her finger on what he was trying to lead on. Why didn't he trust her to come back after the battle with Naraku was done?

"I would _never_ leave you…."

-__


	2. Pt II

**Ascension**

_Nghi_

**A/N:** Thanks so much for the reviews and criticism! Hope you enjoy the second part! The last part is coming later (Because this took a doozy out of me.).

**Disclaimer:** ((shrugs)) I would be living off free manga for the rest of my life….

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**Ascension**

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_ He frowned unpleasantly, his mouth twisting. He was wrong in underestimating their combined power— apparently, they had gathered more knowledge and experience with their battles against youkai along the way, and it looked like they were putting some of the acquired skills to use. Barely dodging the exterminator's boomerang, Naraku responded by sending six, hungry tentacles for their prey. His grin was cut short when the holy monk intervened with a few ofudas. Naraku watched, mildly surprised, as the houshi muttered a few incantations before throwing the strips of paper in the tentacles' directions, where it smacked against all six's sides. The limbs promptly halted and collapsed to the ground, writhing wildly as jolts of the power surged through their bodies. Naraku turned away from the small distraction, searching for the hanyou and his miko bitch— those were only a few of the whole, and there were more limbs to replace those that have fallen. He barely batted an eye as those tentacles exploded into many raining pieces of torn flesh, splattering against the grass and staining the forest floor with his blood. His focus was not on the houshi and the exterminator- rather, it was the blurring red and silver to his right._

_ Tetsusaiga came at amazing speed, aimed for Naraku's head. He laughed, his eyes twinkling. "Are you trying to reach me, Inuyasha?" he mocked, directing a more powerful group of tentacles towards him. "I don't think you'll be able to reach me when I'm up here… and you're down there." His eyes burned with glee as the tentacles each took a swipe at the half-demon. It looked so much fun, and he contemplated about going down there for a closer view and- oh, a nip to the shoulder, and it looked like it might really hurt…. But this boy was stubborn, and he would have fun watching Inuyasha meet his demise under several circling tentacles. "Come now, Inuyasha, be lively now, my boy! Come and dance—"_

_ "Dance with this, Naraku!" The miko bitch! His eyes widened in disbelief at how he could easily forget her when so consumed with giving the hanyou pain. Her aura was flaring and glaring in his direction, and he heard the sharp 'twang' of a bow. Of all the times, when he was so close—! He turned around at the voice, knowing full well that he would probably be gone if he didn't keep an eye out for her as well—_

_ Somewhere in the back of his head, Naraku was smirking at his own irony. Oh, shit, wouldja look at that, he thought. She had aimed for her target and had not missed- the arrow touched his stomach at first, and he felt nothing, but then the arrow went in deeper, and he began to feel a little bit of pain- it continued to burrow and scrape into his stomach— no, through his stomach, and then flew out of his back, carrying along with it the inner flesh and his black blood. Gasping at the pain that spread and numbed his entire abdomen, Naraku clutched at the wound, stumbling a bit on top of his horrendous throne._

_ "Well, well, be lively now, Naraku! Come and dance with us down here!" That mocking voice- the voice was loud and clear, taunting him, daring him. The fool of a hanyou… he believed he was stronger— no, more manipulative, than he. The stupid dog thought he stood a chance…. But what angered, infuriated him the most, was that the pathetic group **could** stand a chance…. He jerked his head in Inuyasha's direction, his eyes losing a little of its teasing twinkle. "I-if… if it's dancing you want," He would not let them know he was having a bit of trouble breathing, "… then dancing is what you get." A sliver of blood had run down his chin, but he paid no attention to it. Let him bleed- the substance was of no importance to him as long as they were defeated. "Come!" The word was screamed, his mouth opened and roaring, and his eyes glaring at the now-banded group._

_ From the heavens above, hell opened its mouth and released its wrath of several million. Below, he smiled with meager satisfaction that the houshi was attempting to form a protective barrier around his team. A defense, Naraku thought, which would prove to be worthless against youkai. Soon, **he** would be the one laughing in immense glee at the many sounds and cries of pain. "You wanted to play, you worthless humans! Come out and play now! Don't go backing out of a challenge that you started in the beginning…." Thunder rumbled above him, hiding among black clouds, and the masses of youkai all swarmed about, their races different and virtually unknown to each other— they were hungry and restless, waiting on command to devour human flesh. "Go." Whispered this time, but they heard it nonetheless. He rejoiced as they greedily dove forward for the lightly glowing barrier. "I win," he said, his mouth curling._

_ The first, few youkai who touched the barrier were electrocuted with holy aura and fell to the ground in scattered pieces, but it was enough to break down the barrier, and that opened a gateway to their food. Hungrily, they lunged forward, even more anxious to taste human flesh— the scent of fear permeated their noses, and the manic look that clouded in their eyes shone brightly, promising slow, deliberate death._

_ They did not expect Miroku to bring up his Kazaana— ripping the covered rosary from his hand, the black void swirled angrily, wind beginning to pick up faster and faster until it was now sucking in the youkai. Naraku noted with slight interest at how Kazaana nearly covered the entire expanse of the houshi's palm- he was nearing the end soon, if they did not win the battle…._

_ More and more youkai were being sucked into the blank void, but while the millions of obscure, starving youkai did not realize this, Naraku had planned for something like this to come up. "What's the matter, Naraku?" the huntress shouted, her smile confident. She stood beside the monk, prepared. "Have you forgotten the curse you've given Miroku? Your youkai are nothing once they are in the Kazaana. And with them out of the way, you have no more defenses!" Her hands gripped the boomerang tightly, daring him to start the first move._

_Naraku only smiled cynically, his eyes staring the girl down. "Silly girl," he replied softly. "Have you forgotten about my Saimyoushou? Or have you forgotten about that, too?" An inaudible gasp came out of her lips as her eyes widened frighteningly. Ah, the scent of fear always spiked his lust for bloodshed…. Miroku quickly closed off Kazaana, hoping it had not taken in some of the poisonous bees— the hope was smashed, however, when he fell to his knees, clutching his hand spastically. "Houshi-sama!" the exterminator cried, beginning to crouch to aid her teammate. But the sudden turn of tables had halted her from doing so, as suddenly, the wave of youkai aimed for the broken monk and his companion. With a deafening roar, the youkai descended upon the small five-some with intimidating force, no longer held back. "Hiraikotsu!" Sango swung her boomerang and released the weapon— it eliminated the first wave, but another one was fast approaching._

_He was back- they might have hurt him once, but he wasn't going to fall for that again, now that he could keep an eye on everyone. "Whose defense is down now?" he smiled scathingly, slipping behind the wall of his youkai. "You shall die before fighting me… how pathetic," he taunted, sending forth an even more bundle of tentacles than before._

_Behind the sickening sound of Tetsusaiga meeting flesh or an arrow slicing through an angry tentacle, the group heard Naraku's laughter, enjoying the scenic view. "There's too many of them!" he heard the miko bitch cry, reaching behind her back for another arrow. "Just keep shooting the arrows!" Inuyasha yelled back, swinging Tetsusaiga through a leering tentacle behind him. Naraku had to laugh at the passing conversation— how pitiable they still believed they stood a chance, when it was obvious that he had already won- the sheer quantity of the youkai was enough to obliterate 50 villages, and yet four, puny humans and one demon child believe they will stand a chance? He laughed at the very thought, because indeed, it sounded so preposterous that they should suddenly be able to—_

_"**Bakuryuha!**" A loud, definite shout, and Naraku stopped mid-thought. There was a small rumble from the ground, and then a distant keening at first. But as the rumbling grew louder— obviously heading towards him, he found the keening also grew louder. Behind the wall of youkai, he found it impossible to see any of the fight- presumably they would have died. "What is going on?" he demanded to no one in particular. "What is that—" And suddenly, the last of the wall of the youkai was blasted away, and the rumbling was coming, coming— no, at Naraku now! And the youkai remnants were all over him, in his hair, in his face, and all over the forest floor. And the wailing grew the loudest here, yelling and screaming and writhing in pain from Tetsusaiga's own wrath while his tentacles were severed by that one blow. And when Naraku realized that all of his tentacles were demolished in one, heavy blow, the severity of the excruciating pain came back full force to haunt him, biting upwards and killing his sense of touch. The pain… a terrific ripple of wave ran through him, and he felt some skin- he couldn't remember if it was his- rip and fly off his body, all lost within other youkai flesh. The stomach laceration was numb now, and for a moment, while he was swept away by the blast, the light too blinding for him, he distantly wondered if he was bleeding while a great, unknown force was ripping him from limb to limb…._

_ When the climax of the hit had calmed a few minutes later, Naraku opened his eyes once more, and he found he had been saved by a forest tree— the impact had swept him away, and his makeshift throne was in impaired condition. It— the blast, was strong… so strong, in fact, that for a moment he believed he was dead. But, here he was, mangled and disfigured with a missing arm and face, but still alive and breathing. Looking over, he saw a glorious sight of the Inugumi ragged and tired, the stupid monk clutching his hand and the exterminator grasping at a wound on her leg and the miko bleeding through her blouse and most importantly the hanyou with a paralyzed right arm and his ratty fire coat. They were obviously tired out, and Naraku was very much certain that if they went through another round, they wouldn't survive. A small, victorious grin— while they only had one body that was so easily breakable, he had the power of regeneration. How pitiable he would crush them with a new body while they were in an exhausted state…._

_Everywhere there were pieces of youkai— some were arms, others were legs, but many of them were decapitated bodies, lying around for a lack of served purpose. No matter- he could mix and match a whole, new body to whatever pleased him. Staring at a nearby arm, he motioned for it to come to him, to complete his left shoulder. It remained where it was, hardly edging towards the half-dead man. Naraku frowned, slightly displeased before waving it off. He could ponder over this later, when they were dead- he would have a lot of time on his hands by then. "Come," he muttered to another youkai arm lying by his scarred foot, and the dog hanyou looked up at the command, clearly surprised._

_"You…" Inuyasha spat, his eyes narrowing down on him, "How the hell you survived that, I have no fuckin' idea. But you're not going to survive a second, personal blow." Cocky and confident, just like the brash person he was. Naraku only smiled lightly back— he **did** love a challenge, and if the puppy wanted one, he would receive it through a strong, new body. This time, he had no intentions of miscalculating the mutt's abilities. Ignoring the upright Inuyasha, Naraku commanded once more, mustering spiritual energy for the arm to connect to his left socket._

_For the second time, the arm stayed where it was, not even an inch of movement at all. Something began to grow deep in his chest- the dog was closing in- as he stared again. "Come now," he stated, his voice less controlled and forced. "Come here." The arm didn't move._

_Why? Why of all now?! "Come here." It was beginning to slip- he was coming, brandishing the old, rusty sword- as a strange, new feeling entered the pits of his stomach. He realized sickeningly that it was fear, the spiteful feeling that was so fun to watch. Fear was what he had instilled into youkai and people who have met him… but he, Naraku, had never had a reason to feel fear behind his miasma and his baboon pelt… until now. For the first in his life, he, the **youkai**, the villain who was supposed to be victorious in the final battle, was scared of the lowly pathetic hanyou._

_A sharp, slicing sound in the air, and he saw that sword transform into a younger, much sharper version of itself. "Come here now!" All feelings of smugness gone, as he was screaming at the arm to magically materialize on his lap. "Come here! Appear! Come—" Calloused feet in front of him, and the tip of Tetsusaiga gleaming against the glaring, afternoon sun. A sinking feeling— he cannot summon the energy to regenerate body parts. "No… no! I was supposed to win— I had everything!" His sword raised- " You were outnumbered… no—" The miko and houshi and exterminator were looking at him now, waiting for that final blow. "I was supposed to end up victorious! I—"_

_"Correction- you **were**." Tetsusaiga came at amazing speed, aimed for Naraku's head. And as the sword descended through his body, he wondered of all the glory and happiness he could have had, would have had, and might have had… but didn't._

-

There was a great deal of poking done on Kagome's ribs to wake her, and when she did, she found both Shippo's concerned face and Inuyasha's half-annoyed, half-concerned one leering over her. "Are you OK?" Ever the one to be motherly, the small kitsune asked worriedly while perched atop her stomach. (And this answered the problem as to why she was having a bit of difficulty breathing near the end of her dream.)

"You were mumbling and shifting in your sleep, too," Inuyasha muttered, squinting his eyes at her. Suddenly, he put a hand to her forehead, and the other hand to his. "You're not… sick, are you? Especially today of all days?"

Brushing the hand away, she replied with a "No, I'm not"— her answer elicited a look of relief from him, and she suddenly had a warm feeling in her stomach that spread to her toes. It was so nice to be fawned over, and before she could ask if he was worried about her, he effectively killed the euphoric feeling by saying, "Good. Because we need everyone today."

Her face puckered, resembling someone who had eaten too many sour berries. "You just had to ruin it with your mouth." Huffing, she pushed him away, hard enough for him to fall on his bum while she wriggled out of her sleeping bag. Ignoring the very expected and very old "What the hell did I do?!" from him, she packed the bag away before shuffling to the other side of the campfire, where Miroku was meditating and Sango brandishing her boomerang. Vaguely, she heard her ever-darling Shippo reprimand Inuyasha for his bad behavior, but it fell to deaf ears as she grabbed a stick from the wood pile and, with her Swiss Army knife that her brother gave… no, lent to her, she began shaping the twig into an arrow.

As she worked quietly, her put off mood (Courtesy to Inuyasha.) eventually dissolved, and her thoughts turned to last night, after Sango and Miroku's friendly, little debate. Or more specifically, her dream. Kagome had dreamt of the final battle, of how it would end. She shivered at the vividness of the exploding bloodstains and Bakuryuha's tremendous force when released… it was as if she had been fighting Naraku himself. Sighing a bit regretfully, Kagome wished it were only too true that the battle was over with- the suspension and building anticipation was dreadful, and if her heart beat any faster, she would suffer from some form of stress attack.

But still… that dream, no matter how bloody or gory it was, gave her hope. That they might actually win. Smiling a little bit, Kagome reveled in that fact— they might win. They might win. It seemed like an exaggerating hope, but it was enough to keep her from going to the other extreme of curling into a fetal ball from pure terror.

They might win…. Her smile grew as she went over her dream again and again, turning it this way and that, just like with Miroku's words. They might win— they might win…! Gradually, the fear and dreaded anticipation that had been rooted in her stomach the past few nights were replaced with confidence and high hopes as she kept chanting her mantra.

_ "And as the sword descended through his body, he wondered of all the glory and happiness he could have had, would have had, and might have had… but didn't."_

Smiling, she thought to herself, "That means something, right?"

-


End file.
